Friendship rejections

[helen88uk]

I feel like im spamming the forum tonight starting all these new topics! I am sorry! lol

But ... I was just wondering, is it likely that suggies reject or outcast members of their own family? Do they really even recognise 'family'? I'm guessing that mothers recognise joeys but if kept together would they still recognise them as their 'children' all of their lives? Do siblings recognice other siblings?

With the intention of owning a little colony (or 6/7 eventually) are you more likely to have problems with introducing gliders of no relation? I know that sometimes suggies just don't get on. Is this heard of in related suggies?

LOL! I'v just read the above and i'd struggle to understand it if I didn't know what I was meaning to say.

To sum up ... for some1 who is possibly wanting 6 or 7 suggies EVENTUALLY, are 4 or 5 seperate introductions going to be a LOT of hard work, or is it just as likely that breeding a family of that many could lead to as many squabbles and potential outcasting?x

[Marie]

They won't look upon other suggies as relatives, they will just become colony members.  If males are not neutered they will breed with females whether they are related or un related.

There is no guarantee that just because they are related they will get along indefinately, like all colonies there will be squabbles and at some point, you could be faced with the fact that someone is being bullied and possible even kicked out of the colony. 

If you want a large colony, just make sure the enclosure is as big as possible, that there are plenty of hiding places, nest boxes/pouches, and food and water stations. 

A colony is (in my opinion) more interesting to watch as they interact more with each other as gliders, but you do need to be extra vigilant and make sure everyone is getting along .

[helen88uk]

Im hopin to try and build my own in the next few months. 6ft by 4ft by 4ft. Gona be a challenge lol ... few weeks of hammered fingers and splinters I imagine!

I know that males will breed with any female they are housed with, related or not ... dirty little buggers! I wondered more about un related gliders being seen more as outsiders than ones that are born within the colony. I know they might not recognise 'family' as such but surely they must be aware of a new joey, see that joey grow up into an adult and just accept him as one of their own rather than an adult that is brought in from another colony.

[Usha77]

I agree with Marie. 

I have 2 quads.  1 is a family:  Mom, Dad, Son & Daughter.  The boys are neutered and they all love each other very much and have lived happily together since the twins were born almost 4 1/2 years ago, aside from a minor case of food aggression by the son which seems to have cleared up since I started giving their food in extra stations all around the cage.  Most days, all 4 are sleeping in the same pouch.  I am vigilant, though - as I know any colony can have problems at anytime.  My other quad is a little boy and his 3 girlfriends (once again, boy is neutered), they were all introduced at a fairly young age one at a time, as I got them (all between 8 weeks oop and 6 months oop).  They also get along splendidly and sleep together all the time. 

I would love to have larger colonies, but it just hasn't worked out for me with intros and I'm okay with keeping the status quo.  I do have friends who have large colonies (between 7 and 12), both families and introduced as adults and they all seem to work fine for them.  Good luck with however you end up going about getting your colony!